Sir Simon Rattle directing Lotti’s Crucifixus and Tallis’s Spem in alium at Berlin

[Stanfordian]

Did anyone see Sir Simon Rattle’s performance of the Mahler Symphony No.8 from the Berlin Philharmonie. The two works that preceded the Mahler were the unaccompanied scores: Lotti’s Crucifixus and Tallis’s Spem in alium. I'm getting the score confused. Can anyone tell me which of the two came first to open the concert and which of the two had the smaller choir?

[Nick Armstrong]

Did anyone see Sir Simon Rattle’s performance of the Mahler Symphony No.8 from the Berlin Philharmonie. The two works that preceded the Mahler were the unaccompanied scores: Lotti’s Crucifixus and Tallis’s Spem in alium. I'm getting the score confused. Can anyone tell me which of the two came first to open the concert and which of the two had the smaller choir?

Lotti's Crucifixus would have had the smaller choir (he wrote versions for 6, 8 and 10 voices I think) whereas the Tallis is of course famously a 40-part motet ....

[Stanfordian]

I have a feeling that the first actually had more singers. Can we assume that the Tallis had 40 singers; probably? It is not possible that Rattle added more singers to the part. The reason I ask was that I was at the concert in Berlin but I have forgotten the order they were sung in. I have two programmes and the order are switched. I have made some notes that said the second score had a smaller choir. Sadly they are not works I know well.

[Rolmill]

Well, this afternoon's radio broadcast started with the Lotti. The Tallis didn't sound like one per part, so I suspect the same choral forces were used for both pieces. Imaginative programming, I thought.

[Stanfordian]

Does anyone know which choir was singing the Lotti and the Tallis that Sir Simon Rattle conducted? I'm pretty sure it was the Rundfunkchor Berlin coached by Simon Halsey but I'm not certain.

[mercia]

the Rundfunkchor Berlin

yes

[Stanfordian]

Yes, it was the Rundfunkchor Berlin coached by Simon Halsey singing Lotti’s Crucifixus and Tallis’s Spem in alium. Simon Halsey's office has confirmed this for me. I was actually at the concert in Berlin but we weren't told in the programme, poster, notes etc. Sir Simon conducted and guess many Berliners would have recognised the choir.

[BBMmk2]

I listened to the radio broadcast on iplayer. Would have loved to have gone to the cinema but the nearest one is Guildford, which fromus, is over an hours drive away!!